Organized for Murder by Ritter Ames Read Free Book Online

for Kate, pointing up all the hundreds of thousands of sites available on any subject. She'd heard of ways to winnow down the data, but she hadn't yet mastered the technique.
    "Plus, who wants to start getting spam emails from assassins or Homeland Security?"
    She snapped her fingers and wrote:
     
    4) Visit library
     
    The perfect place to research poisons; just hide in the shelves and read. She'd begin with books today, then gear up for a big Internet safari in the evening if she came home empty-handed. Though all bravado aside, at the moment she felt very alone. Before the urge for pity overcame her good intentions, the toast popped up, and the doorbell rang. She slipped the notepad into her sweatshirt's big front pocket and went to see who was calling.
    Meg fidgeted on the front porch, looking great in emerald sweats, and waving a newspaper. "Gil went in early and grabbed a morning edition of the paper. Not much in it yet, but I thought you might like to read what the police have released. Meanwhile, I'm dying to learn the inside scoop. I've worked my flowerbeds outside and made the human beds inside. I even washed the breakfast dishes and stacked newspapers for recycling. Basically, I'm out of ways to waste time, and I have to know all about last night."
    "You cannot imagine how happy I am to see you."
    "Good."
    Yet as she ushered her friend into the house, Kate panicked for a moment. Yes, they'd become increasingly closer friends in the last six months, sharing recipes and mothering tips, but the women had only recently reached the sharing-your-load plateau. Was this too big a load? Should she explain the predicament she found herself in? Could she? Looking into her friend's bright green eyes and questioning smile, Kate let her heart override her brain. More than anything, she needed a friend's help, and when one showed up at exactly the right time, she recognized she should just accept fate's gift. "Come into the kitchen, and I'll tell you everything."
    Meg made a new pot of coffee while Kate spread jam on her toast and spilled her troubles. Fifteen minutes later the aromatic brew was forgotten, and breakfast sat stone cold, but all of the new skeletons had been trotted out of the McKenzie closet. Or in this case, the washing supplies cupboard.
    "That's incredible." Meg shook her head, her gaze straying toward the mud room doorway. "You say the box is now in your office?"
    "Yes."
    "And you can't get it open?"
    "I tried everything last night."
    A glint appeared in Meg's green eyes. "Even a hammer?"
    "Oh, I couldn't. It's not my property."
    "You're being set up to take the fall for murder. The box's owner is dead. You're in no position to quibble about the care and handling of something whose presence may railroad you into a life sentence in prison."
    Kate couldn't argue with her friend's logic. They needed to find out the contents and get rid of the thing, no matter what. "But it belongs to one of Amelia's heirs."
    "One who, in all likelihood, probably killed her and is trying to frame you for the crime." Meg placed her hands resolutely on her hips. "Come on. Show it to me."
    The ebony box remained inside its cardboard nest. At first, Kate felt relieved to find everything as she'd left it, but after withdrawing the object disappointment shot through her. "I keep thinking I must have dreamed everything. Hoping, I guess."
    Meg turned it end-over-end, attempting the same techniques Kate had already tried to open the lid. "You're not dreaming, and something is definitely inside."
    "But do we have to break it?"
    "I would, but with two boys I'm used to more wreckage than you are. Broken items are a way of life in our house." Meg sighed, holding the box at arms length. "If what you say is true, though, we don't have the right. The person this thing goes to may not be the person we're looking for. No matter how much I want to smash the scary thing into a billion pieces. How about if I lock it up in my safe deposit box?"
    "Too